Mary Todd Lincoln was a complex woman and, like many women in history, has been virtually ignored by writers and students of her turbulent period in American history. She was born on 13 December 1818 in Lexington, Kentucky, to a wealthy family. She married politician and lawyer Abraham Lincoln on 4 November 1842.
This novel tells her story in the first person narrative, so we hear her voice telling us how she met Abraham Lincoln, what she did to win him and how theirs was a love match. They had 4 sons, 3 of whom died and, when Abraham was assassinated at Ford's Theatre, she sank into a deep depression. She was committed to an asylum by her eldest and surviving son, Robert, from where it took her several months to win her freedom.
Janis Cooke Newman creates a sympathetic character of great strength and resourcefulness. She weaves fact with fiction to produce a believable, almost biographical, tale of triumph and tragedy, seasoned with details of ordinary domestic life in the midst of the great events of the American civil war
Her writing breathes life into the simplistic portrait of Mary - that of a spendthrift, mentally disturbed woman who breaches many of the restrictive rules that governed women's lives at this time. The writing is generous in style, perceptive and detailed in its descriptions but, even at its most emotional moments, never descends into mawkishness.
My only criticism is that, at 562 pages, I found the book just a tad overlong. This might just be a personal preference, however. As a sort-of-writer myself, I frequently look at a piece of fiction and work out how the story could be improved. It's easy to be critical when it's someone else's work!
In spite of this I recommend this book, especially to those who enjoy a well researched and well written piece of historical fiction.
Mrs Lincoln is published by Myrmidon, ISBN 978-1-905802-10-4 (hardback), 978-1-905802-11-1 (Export Trade Paperback)
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